what's in the mail? 6-14-12 edition

Yes, I realize it's not a Thursday, my usual "What's in the mail?" post day ... but my week has been completely swamped with yearbook, VBS, frantic reading, and meeting up with old high school friends. So here are the items I'd received by Thursday:

illy issimo Coffee Drink, Caffè
I got this from Vine. I'd previously reviewed illy issimo's similar cappuccino drink, and I really liked that one, so I had high hopes for this. I was sorely disappointed—it was bitter with a terrible aftertaste. Here's my review.

CLEAR SCALP & HAIR BEAUTY Damage & Color Repair Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner
Thanks again, Vine! Honestly, I'm not too picky about my shampoo and conditioner. I really just want something that smells good and doesn't leave my hair weighed down. (And if I'm being honest, the smell is by far the most important factor—I once paid $22 at the salon for the shampoo my stylist uses when she washes my hair because I fell in love with the smell.) Well, I'm happy to report that this shampoo/conditioner has an amazing scent! Plus, it's cheap—especially if you use the Amazon coupon. My reviews are here and here.

Five Miles South of Peculiar by Angela Hunt
I haven't cracked this book open yet—the review isn't due until the 28th, and we've certainly established the fact that I'm a procrastinator! I have enjoyed all of the other Angela Hunt books I've read (especially The Fine Art of Insincerity, which I reviewed last year and put on my Best Books of 2011 list), and I'm sure I'll like this one, too.

Treasures of Healthy Living by Annette Reeder
When this arrived in the mail, it took me by surprise. I signed up for the Glass Road tour back in March, and the tour kept getting pushed back because there was a holdup with shipping the books. So by the time the book arrived, I'd completely forgotten about it! This is a Bible study. Basically, it looks at what the Bible says about food and eating. It wasn't really my thing ... but you're welcome to check out my review!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received these products free in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and received no monetary compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

snow day #2

I don't know if I've ever had two snow days in a row before. I suppose it may have happened back in the day, but I certainly don't remember it. And, as a nice little bonus, we also have a late start tomorrow!

I woke up this morning to the smell of gasoline. My sleep-addled brain finally determined that the smell was coming through my heat ducts. I opened the door to my utility closet, and the stench slapped me in the face. My first thought was to call my landlord. My second thought was to shower before calling him (as I didn't shower yesterday--yay for snow days!), just in case he was already on site and decided to come right over. While in the shower, it occurred to me that the smell might not be coming from my furnace but might instead be drifting up from the laundry room and/or utility room, both of which are directly below my apartment. When I checked out the utility room, I determined that the smell had originated there. Perhaps my landlord had problems with the snow blower this morning? I turned my heat way down so the stench would not be transported through the apartment by my heater. Then I closed all the other doors in the apartment, opened the utility closet, sprayed Febreze, and turned on a fan. After several hours, the smell dissipated.

When I ventured down to check my mail around noon, this is what I saw:

I don't know how many inches that is, but I know it's a lot! Later, after my neighbor and the Bobcat man were finished moving snow, this is what the front lawn looked like:

Notice the SUV in the background--the snow practically obscures it!

I spent my afternoon cleaning my bedroom. I've discovered that I sleep better in my spare bedroom, so my room has been quite neglected recently. However, one of my students is staying with me over Christmas break, so I'll have to move back to my room. Hopefully having it clean will make it a little more inhabitable!

I ventured out to do some laundry at my parents' house, and then I got a haircut (which was rescheduled from yesterday). Val said she liked it, but Blendy said she prefers it when it flips out. Well, it will probably be flipping out tomorrow--I don't really possess many hair-doing skills, and letting it flip out (or basically go whichever way it pleases) is the easiest!

We had Awana tonight, despite the fact that both NC and the public school were closed today. Next Wednesday is our Christmas program, so I guess it was pretty important that the kids were there to practice. We only had nine Sparks, so our practice accomplished a little, but not a lot. Hopefully more will be there next Wednesday!

After Awana, I watched the end of Edward Scissorhands while munching on some delicious cinnamon popcorn that Sue, my Sparks co-director, brought for treats tonight. (Shocker that Sue would bring popcorn!)

A glimpse of both the new haircut and the popcorn ... as well as my styling flip-flop pajamas!

All in all, it's been an excellent two days off!

hair adventures

My sister and I do not have a good track record when it comes to coloring and/or highlighting our hair.

One of the first times I dyed my hair, it came out purple instead of slightly red as I'd intended. The first time I highlighted was my senior year of college. My friend Jami did it for me, and instead of having a few blonde highlights spread throughout my brown hair, I practically became blonde! I made an emergency Walmart run the next day and found a sale on hair color--two for the price of one. So I bought two boxes of some shade of brown and dyed my hair twice. You'd think I would have learned my lesson about blonde highlights, but no, a year later I tried again . . . with the same results! This time it was Dollar General to the rescue.

My sister's hair hasn't fared much better. We highlighted it successfully several times, but when she decided to go brown . . . well, let's just say there was some green involved! We learned anything with "ash" in the name wouldn't go over well, so last time, we tried a golden brown. Her hair came out in a nice shade of orange.

Today, we decided to give it a go again. Amazingly, both our dye jobs turned out well! I had one of those dye & highlight kits, and I was a tad apprehensive about the highlighting part, but I like the way it turned out.

So, here's a glimpse of our (matching) hair.